Increasingly, digitally distributed audio may be used for business and social communications. For example, conference calls, webcasts, real-time web meetings, podcasts, and the like may be used to exchange information and share ideas. The audio stream may include vocal communications among participants. For example, an audio stream for a conference call may include the vocal communication of those present.
Typically, a participant may be present and attentive for the entire duration of the audio stream. Even if the participant may not be interested in all that is being discussed, generally, the participant may listen to the entire audio stream waiting for particular subject matter to become the topic of discussion.
For example, publicly traded companies typically hold conference calls for industry analysts. Although an analyst may be tracking a single target company, the analyst may nonetheless be interested in any mention of the target company in any of the many conference calls of other companies in the same industry as the target company. Thus, even though the analyst may only be interested in the target company, the analyst may have to listen to many conference calls in their entirety merely waiting to hear if the target company is ever mentioned.
Also for example, a participant may join a live audio stream after it has begun, and the participant may be interested in subject matter that has already been discussed. It may be impossible for the participant to know what has already been discussed in real-time, so the participant may have to listen to the entire duration of the audio stream waiting for a topic that has already past. Even at the conclusion of the audio stream, the participant may not be able to confirm that the subject matter had already been discussed.
Typically, a conference call may include an agenda that establish topics and the order in which they will be discussed. For example, the agenda may include an outline, a slide deck, background documents, a reference to a website, and the like. The agenda may be prepared beforehand, and may not reflect real-time changes in the subject matter of the conference call. Because the agenda may not accurately reflect the topics being discussed, the participant interested in a specific topic may not be able to rely on the agenda to identify the best time at which to join the conference.
Thus, there is a need for an effective identification of topics and their temporal location within an spoken-word audio stream.